A Night with the Girls
by caseymac42
Summary: A widowed Johnny hosts his daughter's first sleep over party.


A Night with the Girls

Shortly after he and Roy had been promoted to Captain, Johnny had met Lauren. He was at the supermarket, not watching where he was going when he accidentally bumped his cart into her.

Afraid that he had injured her, he went into paramedic mode and started to make sure she was okay. A year later, Johnny and Lauren were married. He had fallen in love with her warm personality and sense of humor. She fell in love with his soulful eyes and crooked smile.

A year after they married, they welcomed the birth of their first child, a daughter named Melody. Johnny had always thought that despite his late start in settling down, that he would have a large family. But after having Melody, Lauren had three miscarriages, their plans of a big family dashed.

For seven years they were a happy family, until Lauren had died suddenly of complications from pneumonia. It had been a difficult year, but Johnny and his daughter were both able to move on in their lives.

Shortly after turning eight years old, Melody had asked her father if she could have her first sleep over party. Not able to deny his daughter one of the rites of passage of elementary school, he agreed to let her have one.

One morning after getting off shift, Captain DeSoto and Captain Gage met for breakfast at their favorite diner.

Noticing the somewhat melancholy look on his best friend's face, Roy became concerned. He knew how hard getting over Lauren's death had been for his friend. "So what's going on with you, Johnny? You seem kinda down today."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know…tomorrow night is Mel's first sleep over party."

Roy smiled. "Yeah? What's wrong then…not up to the challenge?"

Johnny shook his head. "Oh no…I'm up to it. I've had plenty of practice with YOUR kids. It's…well, I know it's not gonna be the same for her without Lauren around. I asked Melody if she'd rather have someone else host it…Joanne, Jennifer…even Dixie…any female relative."

"And what did she say?" Roy asked curiously.

"She said that she wanted ME to do the honors."

"Your little girl loves you, Johnny."

"I know…it's…I know she misses her mom, a lot."

"But she still has her dad. I know how hard this last year has been for you, Johnny…but you've handled it amazingly well."

"I suppose. You know…it took me so long to find that special girl…I was finally settled down…and then…I'm sorry Roy…I don't mean to…"

Roy looked understandingly at his friend. "Junior…if anyone is entitled to a bad day every now and again…it's definitely you. Hey…did you hear the latest…Captain Stanley just made Battalion Chief. Starting next week he'll be replacing Chief McConnike…he'll be our new Chief."

Hearing the latest news, a wistful expression came over Johnny's face.

"No, I hadn't heard…that's great. I guess the guys have all moved on."

"Yeah. Stoker's A-shift Captain at 110's, Marco is your engineer, and Chet's the engineer at 39's…"

Johnny laughed and shook his head. "Under Captain Craig Brice…god help him."

After breakfast, the two friends parted ways, Johnny assuring Roy that he'd be in touch. When Johnny arrived home, he was met by Aunt Ellen. Aunt Ellen was Lauren's aunt who stayed at the house and took care of Melody while Johnny was on shift.

Greeting Johnny with a warm smile, the kindly older woman sensed the same melancholy in Johnny that Roy had had earlier.

"Welcome home, Johnny…everything okay?" She asked, worried that he had had a bad shift.

Johnny gave the woman a big hug, and even forced himself to smile. "Everything's fine…thanks for asking. Mel got off to school okay?"

"Yes. She's really looking forward to the sleep over party tomorrow night. That's all she's been talking about for the last three days."

"Yeah…I could only imagine. Ellen…I'm not making a mistake doing this, am I?" Johnny asked, the weight of the world seemingly on his shoulders.

"You mean hosting a little girls' sleep over party?"

"Yeah. What…what if I disappoint her? I know that kids can be cruel. I don't want her friends to think that her dad is a square or anything."

Looking into his brown eyes, Ellen smiled and lovingly touched his cheek.

"Johnny…you are a very special young man. You love your daughter very much…and she sure loves you. Together you and Melody will make a special evening for all the girls. I did some food shopping…Melody gave me a heads up of some of the stuff she wanted at the party."

"Ellen…how can I ever repay you…for everything you've done for me?"

Kissing Johnny on the cheek, the woman continued to smile at him. "You already have…by being such an incredible father. I'll be in touch with you, Johnny. Call me if you need any help."

"Thank you." This time it was Johnny's turn to kiss HER on the cheek.

After Aunt Ellen left, Johnny put his duffle bag down, took off his shoes, and lay down on the comfortable leather couch. Turning on the television, he dozed off listening to one of the morning talk shows.

So deep in sleep was he, that he didn't wake up again until he heard a sweet voice calling 'daddy'.

"Hey princess, I'm here on the couch." Johnny called out to his young daughter.

Coming over to him was his darling little girl. Melody was a good mix of both her mother and her father. She had her mother's long brown wavy hair, and her father's expressive brown eyes and mischievous smile…she also had both of her parents' good looks. From her mother she also inherited a sweet and loving personality…from her father…his compassion and flair for the dramatic.

"You okay, Daddy?" Melody asked with concern, noting the tiredness in his voice and on his face.

"I'm fine, sweetie…just tired. It was a busy shift. After I had breakfast with Uncle Roy, I came home and just crashed on the couch. So tell me about school."

"It was fun. Our teacher Mrs. Johnson, brought in her new puppy. Daddy, do you think we can get a dog? I promise to take care of it…and walk it…make sure it has food…brush it…"

Johnny looked at his daughter's brown eyes…when she looked at him a certain way…he was hooked.

Sighing, he pulled her into his arms. "I'll think about it. Why did Mrs. Johnson have her puppy in the classroom, anyway?"

"It was science class, Daddy. We were talking about animal babies and she brought her new puppy in."

"What kind of puppy was it?"

"A golden retriever. His name is Chester…he's only three months old and has really big paws."

Johnny couldn't help but to laugh when he heard what the dog's name was. "Chester, huh."

"What's so funny, Daddy?" Melody asked, a curious look on her sweet face.

"Uncle Chet's full name is Chester. Hearing you tell me the story just made me laugh. Are you hungry at all?"

"Depends…what are we having for dinner?"

"Well…I was thinking…how about spaghetti and meatballs?"

"Can you make it like Uncle Mike makes it?" A hopeful Melody stood looking up at her father.

Once again Johnny had to laugh. Everywhere he turned, reminders of his friends seemed to pop up…for that he was grateful. "Just like Uncle Mike's. So, let me ask you again…are you hungry?"

"I guess I can wait."

"Have an apple or orange if you're hungry. I'll start dinner around four. You have any homework?"

"Some math and spelling." She groaned.

"Okay…well, it's only three o'clock. Why don't you go change and come back down with your homework….then maybe we can talk about tomorrow night's sleep over party."

"Okay Daddy."

Smiling wide, Melody left to go to her room and change.

Johnny watched as she walked away. He missed his wife terribly, but knowing that he still had a daughter…and a piece of Lauren with her…he couldn't help but to smile.

While he was waiting for Melody to return downstairs, the phone rang. Going over to the kitchen wall, he answered it.

"Hello, Gage residence."

"Hi there."

Hearing the sultry voice on the other end of the phone, made him smile. "Hi ya, Dix. What's up?"

"Nothing really. I was just wondering how your plans for Melody's sleep over party were coming along."

"Not bad…we were going to talk about it over dinner. Wanna join us? Or…does Dr. Brackett already have plans with you?"

A few years earlier Dixie and Dr. Brackett rekindled their romance, and after a trip to Las Vegas, married.

"No plans, Kel's working tonight…but I'M free. How about if I come over and help you with dinner?"

"If you want to. How do you feel about spaghetti and meatballs?"

"Is this the world famous Mike Stoker recipe?" Dixie asked with a smile in her voice.

"The one and only. I was gonna start cooking around four."

"I'll be over…I'll even bring dessert."

"Sounds good…thanks, Dix."

After he got off the phone, he turned around to see Melody walking to the kitchen table. She had on a pair of jeans and one of her father's old LACoFD tee shirts, that was obviously many sizes too big for her small body.

"Who was that, Daddy?"

"Aunt Dixie. She's coming over for dinner."

"Cool." Melody replied, happy to be having company for dinner.

While Melody started on her homework, Johnny got out all the ingredients he'd need for his dinner preparations.

"How's the math coming along, Mel?"

"It's not too bad. Dad, did you think about whether or not we can get a dog, yet?" The little girls asked, hopeful that she would receive a positive answer.

"Melody… something like that is a big responsibility. I'm at work a lot. If we did get a dog…Aunt Ellen would be the one taking care of it a lot of the time. Do you really think that's fair to her?"

"Can't we ask her?"

Seeing the hopeful look on his daughter's face, Johnny had to give her credit for her tenacity, but knew getting a dog under the current circumstances wouldn't be a good idea.

"This isn't the time for this discussion, sweetheart. I told you I would think about it…I'm not going to make a decision on impulse. When I am ready…I'll talk to your Aunt and see what she thinks…then MAYBE I'll consider it. Fair enough?"

"Okay." Came the soft reply.

Turning to face his daughter, Johnny smiled at her, and then leaned in and the two of them rubbed their noses together. This was something they'd done since Melody was a toddler. "Just in case I haven't told you lately…I love you, Mel. You're the most important thing to me in the world…the ENTIRE world, and I would do anything to make you happy."

"I love you, too Dad."

Johnny had been helping her with some of her spelling words, when there was a knock at the door.

Getting up to answer it, Johnny met Dixie at the door.

"Hi handsome." Greeted that sultry voice.

The two of them warmly embraced and Johnny gave his friend a peck on the cheek.

"Welcome Dix. Melody's in the kitchen."

After taking the grey box that Dixie was holding, Johnny led her to the kitchen.

"Hi Aunt Dixie." Greeted Melody.

"Hi there, sweetheart."

Melody gave Dixie a hug.

"You're helping Daddy make dinner?"

"I sure am. Are you going to help, too?"

"Yep…Daddy lets me make the meatballs." Melody said, beaming with pride.

The three of them set about fixing dinner, and soon they were at the table enjoying their meal.

"Hey, I didn't tell you guys…Captain Stanley made Battalion Chief. He's taking over for McConnike. Roy told me this morning."

"That's great. It must be a little sad for you and the guys to think that it's truly the end of an era…with everyone moving on from 51's and all."

"Yeah, it is…but I guess we'll always have the memories of all those great years. So, how's dinner? Everyone enjoying the meal?" Johnny was anxious to move on from talking about the past.

"It's good, Daddy." said Melody, tomato sauce on her face.

"Yes, Johnny…after all these years I finally get to appreciate Mike Stoker's spaghetti recipe. As I recall…didn't you and Roy get into an argument about it…something involving Joanne or something?"

"Yeah…but it had a happy ending." Johnny was quick to point out.

After dinner was finished, the table was cleared and the three of them sat in the living room relaxing.

Dixie smiled at Melody. "So…I hear tomorrow is your first sleep over party."

"Yeah. I'm having five of my friends over…we're gonna have a lot of fun."

"I'm sure you are. So what kind of stuff are you going to do?" A curious Dixie asked the little girl.

"Girl stuff…my daddy's got everything under control."

"Johnny?"

"You heard her, Dix…I've got everything under control. I have a special evening planned for the girls. It's going to be the best sleep over party ever…right, Mel?" Johnny winked at his daughter.

Melody winked back and smiled.

"Well, I brought dessert over…if anyone wants a piece of chocolate cake."

Going back to the kitchen, Dixie got out the cake and brought it to the table, while Johnny brought out two glasses for milk, and a cup of coffee for Dixie.

Sitting down at the table, they chatted some more while enjoying their cake.

Looking at his watch and seeing that it was already 8:30 PM, Johnny looked over at his daughter.

"Mel, I think it's time for you to get ready for bed. Your homework is all done, right?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Why don't you say good night to Dixie and get ready for bed. I'll be up in a little while to say good night, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for coming over, Dixie…and for the yummy chocolate cake…mine and my daddy's favorite."

"You're welcome…and I know it is, that's why I brought it over. You have sweet dreams, Melody. I'll see you again soon."

The two of them embraced and Melody went up to her room.

"You have one amazing little girl, Johnny….she takes after her father." Commented Dixie, as she watched Melody walk away and make her way up the stairs.

"She is pretty amazing, but I always thought she took more after her mother."

Dixie paused for a moment and watched the emotion enter his eyes, and flit across his face. "It's still hard for you Johnny, isn't it? Raising a daughter without her mother…and especially having to host her first sleep over party?"

"I'm okay, Dix. I guess I'm just having a bad day. Some days are fine…and then all of a sudden…I'll kinda lose it. I miss Lauren so much. It took me so long to find her…and then I lost her." Wiping his eyes and quickly regaining his composure, Johnny stood up. "Are you in any hurry, Dix? I'm just gonna tuck her in and I'll be back down."

"Sure…take your time…I'll be right here."

Johnny went upstairs to his daughter's very "girly" bedroom to get her settled in for the night.

"Good night, princess. I love you…I'll see you in the morning." said Johnny, as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"I love you too, Daddy." answered a sleepy voice.

Johnny gave Melody a kiss, tucked her in, and turned off the light.

"Sweet dreams."

Leaving her room, he headed back down the stairs, still very much thinking about his late wife.

"All tucked in, Johnny?"

"Yeah…all tucked in." replied Johnny, a bit distracted.

"So…you wanna talk? You seem like you have a bit on your mind?"

"No…I'm fine, Dix. Sometimes, it just gets to me…but then I concentrate on Melody's smiling face…and she makes it all better. I'd rather talk about you and Dr. Brackett. How's married life going for the two of you?"

"John Gage…"

"Sorry, Dix…had to ask." The Gage grin was firmly planted on his face.

"Things are going great, Johnny. Did you have any doubts?" asked Dixie, her eyebrows arched.

"Me? Nope. I always knew that the two of you would end up together. Roy always told me I was crazy. He thought that maybe you'd end up with Dr. Early."

"Oh did he? I'll have to have a talk with that best friend of yours. So, you have everything covered for tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, I do. I'll let you know how everything goes, over the weekend."

The two of them sat on the couch and talked for another hour.

"It's after ten, Johnny…I should get going." said Dixie as she looked at her gold watch.

"Thanks for coming over tonight, Dix. It was a real pick me up to have you here."

"You're welcome…and don't be a stranger, John Gage."

Johnny walked Dixie out to her car, and the two of them hugged good night.

The next morning after getting Melody off to school, Johnny set about getting everything ready for the evening's sleep over party. Grabbing a pad and pen from by the phone, Johnny was about to sit down when the phone rang.

Picking up the phone, he already had a feeling that he knew who would be on the other end.

"Good morning, Gage residence."

"Morning to you too, partner."

Johnny let out a slight laugh. It had been over eight years since they were last partners, but every once in a while a "partner" slipped out any way.

"What's up, Roy?"

"Not too much. I was just wondering how your preparations for tonight were going."

"Fine…I have everything under control. You know, a few weeks back when I first agreed to host this party for Melody…I was a bit apprehensive, but I honestly believe everything will go fine. I AM a Captain in the Fire Department, after all. If I can handle the silly antics of grown men…I can certainly handle the antics of six eight-year old girls."

"I'm glad that you are so positive about it, Johnny." commented an amused Roy.

"Okay Roy…what is the real reason of your phone call?"

"Nothing…just checking up on a friend. Honestly Johnny…if you need any help or anything…just call."

"I will Roy…see ya later."

Smiling to himself as he hung up the phone, Johnny made his way to the kitchen counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. Picking the pad and pen back up he sat down at the table and started a list of everything he'd need to assure a successful evening for Melody and her firends. He also made a list of some of the things that he'd do with the girls.

After finishing his lists, he sat for a few moments, quietly thinking of his late wife Lauren.

"I promise to make you proud, honey. Our little girl and her friends will have the best sleep over party ever…you'll see."

Getting up he surveyed the refrigerator and pantry to see what items Aunt Ellen had already bought. Crossing off a few items that were already in the house, Johnny pondered his next move.

Deciding that a quick trip to the supermarket would be wise, he finished the rest of his coffee in a gulp and rinsed out the cup. Grabbing his sweatshirt and keys, Johnny headed out the door.

After making the rounds at the supermarket and a local department store, Johnny returned home with all of his packages. Putting all of the items away, he started to straighten up the house and get everything in order for the evening's sleep over party.

Engrossed, spending the day working on all of his preparations, Johnny didn't realize what the time on the clock said, and was surprised to see Melody come in the front door.

Johnny was at the kitchen table working on some gift bags, when she ran over to him.

"Daddy…"

Johnny looked up smiling as his daughter came bounding into the kitchen. "Hey there, sweetie. Good day at school?"

"Yep."

"You have a hug for your old dad?"

Melody giggled and gave her father a hug. "You're not old, Daddy."

"Thank you for saying that, Mel…and thanks for the hug…it made my day."

Johnny looked at his watch. "2:55. Mel, I'm finishing up down here. Why don't you go change and relax for a while. Your friends will start arriving around 4:30."

"Okay. But do you need any help or anything?"

"Nope…got everything all taken care of." Johnny said, lightly tapping her nose.

Melody left to go up to her room, and Johnny continued to work on the gift bags. He decided that it would be fun to give out prizes when they played games, and to serve as kind of a memento of the evening. When he finished putting the gift bags together, he put them in a box and put them away in a closet.

Happy and assured that all of the details for the party were taken care of Johnny went to relax on the couch, turning on the TV in the process. A few minutes later, Melody returned downstairs wearing jeans and a LACoFD tee shirt…a different one that she had had on the evening before.

"Watching anything good, Dad?"

Johnny smiled. "Nope, just going through the channels. Excited about tonight, princess?"

"Yeah…and my friends all are too. That's all we talked about at lunch today. And some of the boys in my class…they found out that you were in the fire department…and they wanted to come over, too."

Johnny couldn't help but to laugh. "Sorry Mel…no boys tonight. But if you'd like me to…I'll talk to your teacher about maybe coming in to talk to your class about fire safety."

"That'd be cool, Dad." Melody answered with a grin.

"It's a deal."

Johnny had ended up dozing on the couch, while Melody was watching Tom and Jerry on the TV.

As Johnny's internal alarm clock went off, noting that it was almost 4PM, he woke up.

"Wow…guess I was tired. Your friends should start arriving, soon."

When 4:15 PM arrived, so did a few of Melody's friends. The first to arrive was Melody's best friend Emily. She was soon followed by the others.

As Johnny met each of the girls' mothers, he sensed relief when they all discovered that he was a fire captain and former paramedic…they knew their daughters were in good hands.

After the last mother left, Johnny turned to face the girls. Smiling at them, a warm feeling came over him as he thought about what his late wife's reaction to him hosting the party would have been. The only girl he knew was Melody's friend Emily.

"Okay girls. I'm Melody's dad…you can call me Johnny. Now, I know Emily, but what's everyone else's name?"

Melody introduced the other four girls to her father. "This is Johanna, Deanne, Carly, and Melissa."

Johnny smiled at them. "Nice to meet you. I hope you guys are hungry, I have some pizzas coming."

The girls all giggled.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Why don't you all put your stuff up in Melody's room."

As the girls walked away, he caught the gleam in Carly's eyes. There was something about that little girl and the way she carried herself that reminded him of Chet Kelly. He smiled to himself and shook his head.

Going to the kitchen, he got out the soda, paper plates, and napkins and set them on the counter.

Upstairs the girls were talking.

"Your dad is really cute."

More giggles.

The ringing of the doorbell signaled the pizzas' arrival.

"Mel…girls…pizza's here," Johnny called upstairs.

One by one, the six girls came down the stairs.

"Come on over to the kitchen table."

As the girls took their seats, Johnny handed out the paper plates and napkins.

"Melody said you guys liked extra cheese on your pizza."

"We sure do, Mr. Gage…I mean Johnny." Emily giggled. Being Melody's best friend for a few years, she was used to calling Johnny by his proper name, but when he told the girls to call him Johnny…she had trouble remembering that.

"What kind of soda you girls want? I have cans of cola, root beer, 7-up and orange."

Melody and Emily took the orange, Johanna took the root beer, and the other three girls wanted cola.

While the girls were enjoying their pizza, Johnny was standing by the counter enjoying listening to their giggles and whispers.

"Daddy, aren't you gonna have some pizza, too?"

"Don't worry about me, Mel…I'm fine. You girls enjoy the pizza."

"Johnny, what are we gonna do after we're done eating?"

Johnny smiled at the girl with the long curly brown hair. "Deanne, is it?" When the girl nodded her head, he continued. "Well…I'd like to teach you guys a new card game…it's called spoons."

The little blonde girl named Melissa looked at Johnny in confusion. "Spoons?"

"I know it sounds silly…but it's a fun game…and whoever wins gets a prize."

After the girls finished eating and the table was cleared, Johnny brought over a deck of cards and five tea spoons.

"Okay ladies, everyone take a seat."

When they were all sitting down, Johnny went on to explain the game to them.

"Everyone understand it?"

All six girls nodded their heads. Johanna was the first dealer and started the game. The first round loser was Carly, who just barely missed grabbing a spoon.

The girls loved the game. They laughed and laughed. After playing for almost two hours, Emily was deemed the winner.

"Okay Em, you have a choice of one of these bags."

Lined up on the counter were ten brightly colored gift bags.

Picking a bright orange bag, Emily smiled when she peered into the bag. "Way cool, Mr. Gage...I mean Johnny. Nail polish, stickers, markers…thanks."

"You're welcome. You guys ready for dessert? I thought maybe you'd like to make your own sundaes."

The girls all squealed with delight.

Johnny got out the ice cream, chocolate and vanilla, as well as all the toppings.

After each girl made her own sundae, they all gathered in the living room, lounging on the two couches.

"Hey, you guys enjoy yourselves…I'll be in the study. Call me if you need anything."

Smiling as he took in the sight of the six happy little girls, Johnny left the girls and headed to his study. Sitting down at his desk to write out some bills, he smiled to himself at hearing the sounds of all the giggling coming from the living room.

Once the girls finished their ice cream, they begged Johnny to come back out and stay with them. For the next few hours, Johnny obliged them. They spent the rest of the night talking, playing games, and he even let the girls paint his toe nails…hot pink, and of course he made a mental note to take the polish off before going back on duty on Monday morning. He could hear the snickers of all his men, if he forgot.

As the time approached midnight, the girls were getting tired. Their natural youthful energy was starting to run out.

"Alright girls, why don't you guys get ready for bed and bring your sleeping bags downstairs. I have a few things planned for the morning, and you guys need your sleep."

"Okay Daddy…let's go guys."

Once again, Johnny smiled as he watched the six girls go off to get ready for bed.

As the girls were getting ready for bed, they were talking.

"Mel, your dad is so cool…he's so much fun. MY dad would never in a million years let me paint his toe nails."

The girls continued to tell Melody how lucky she was to have Johnny for a father…and of course, she already knew that. While she did miss her mom, Melody still had her dad and the two of them were very close…and for that she was grateful.

While waiting for the girls to return, Johnny pondered his next move. He decided that he'd play it safe and spend the night in the den, so he could still keep an eye on the girls. They would have their privacy, but if he were needed, he'd be close by.

The girls came downstairs wearing their pajamas and carrying their pillows, sleeping bags, and stuffed animals. His own daughter slept with a Teddy bear that he had given her, shortly after her mother died.

Once the girls were all settled, Johnny turned off all the lights, except for a dim lamp in the corner.

"I'll be in the den, girls. Holler if you need anything."

He gave Melody a kiss good night and made his way to the den. "Sweet dreams, ladies."

The next morning at six o'clock, Johnny was sitting quietly at the kitchen table drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper. He figured it would be a couple hours at least, before the girls woke up. In talking to all the girls' mothers, a pick up time hadn't been discussed…Johnny instead would have the girls call home when they were ready to leave.

The first one up was Carly…the little girl who reminded Johnny so much of Chet Kelly.

"Mornin'," Johnny said to the young girl, smiling.

"Hi there,"she replied.

"Hungry?"

The girl nodded her head emphatically. "Uh huh."

"Well…you have a choice…pancakes or waffles?"

Carly looked thoughtful for a few moments before answering. "Can I please have a little of both…they're both my favorites."

"Of course…pancakes and waffles coming right up." Johnny said with a wink.

As the aroma of waffles and pancakes cooking, made their way to the living room, the rest of the girls got up and joined Johnny and Carly in the kitchen.

While everyone was enjoying breakfast, Melody's friend Johanna asked Johnny about the plans for the morning.

"What do you have planned for us today, Johnny?"

"Well…I was hoping to give you guys some first aid lessons. I think it's important for everyone to know at least the basics."

The girls all seemed to be genuinely excited about it.

While they changed and washed up, Johnny cleaned up in the kitchen.

By the time they returned downstairs, he had all of his equipment set up, including a dummy that they would be practicing on.

"Alright everyone, welcome to Captain Gage's first aid boot camp. As you all know I am a firefighter, but for over seven years I was also a paramedic. How many of you know what a paramedic is?"

Johnny was happy to see all six hands go up.

"Good. Paramedics help people when they are hurt or sick and bring them to the hospital so the doctors and nurses can continue to take care of them. I feel it's very important that EVERYONE knows at least the basics of first aid…what to do if someone gets cut, or falls…even stopping breathing. You CAN make a big difference in what happens to that person.

Over the next three hours, Johnny taught the girls a lot of the basics. They even got into CPR and what to do if someone was choking. To his joy and amazement, the girls got very into the lessons. A few of them were even asking about how to become paramedics.

As the time approached noon, the girls started to make their phone calls home, to be picked up.

After each girl and her parent thanked Johnny and Melody for hosting the party and telling them what a wonderful time they all had, the last girl left. Each one of them left with a gift bag…and a smile on her face.

Once the house was cleaned up and everything put back into place, Johnny and Melody laid on the couch together watching an episode of "I Love Lucy."

Melody looked at her father…love in her eyes. "Thanks Daddy…the party was awesome. I love you."

Johnny smiled and kissed the top of her forehead. "You're welcome…and I love you, too."

The next week proved to be quite interesting. First, much to his horror, Johnny had indeed forgotten to remove the polish from his toe nails… thus, despite being a Captain, he became the target of many jokes at his station due to the bright pink nail polish on his toenails.

Secondly, much to his amazement and satisfaction, the six girls that he tutored in basic first aid, only a few days earlier, became heroes when the bus they were riding in was involved in an accident. The kids were on their way to a field trip when the bus was in the accident. Although it was scary, they helped everyone remain calm and helped the teacher do some basic first aid on some of the kids, until help arrived.

Ironically, it was both Johnny and Roy's stations that were called to the accident scene. At first they were both worried when they realized who was in the bus, but when they saw both Melody and Emily helping some of their classmates, they were relieved to see that they were obviously okay.

Seeing the two girls together helping the other kids, made both Johnny and Roy smile.

"Junior, in another 13 years or so...those two will be as good as you and me were."

Johnny smiled and nodded his head. "They'll be even better, Pally. By the way…the sleep over party was a huge success."

It was Roy's turn to smile. "There was no doubt in mind that you could do it, Johnny. For you…it was just another night with the girls."

The End


End file.
